NMMC system makes Top 100 as workplace

TUPELO – North Mississippi Health Services has been named one of the Top 100 best places to work in health care.
The list released earlier this week by Modern Healthcare Magazine was compiled from in-depth surveys of 317 companies and random surveys of their employees. The recognition includes North Mississippi Medical Center hospitals in Tupelo, Iuka, West Point, Pontotoc and Hamilton, Ala., and the regional clinic network.
“This serves as external validation that we are continuing to focus on the right things,” said John Heer, chief executive for North Mississippi Health Services.
North Mississippi Health Services was the only health care provider recognized in Mississippi. Other regional hospitals on the list include Methodist Le Bonheur in Memphis, Sarah Cannon Research Institute in Nashville and Community Health Systems in Franklin, Tenn.
The Tupelo-based hospital system decided to participate in the survey because Modern Healthcare is a well-respected publication. Hospital officials also wanted to see how it stacked up against other organizations around the nation.
“We definitely have a clear-cut mission; ‘People’ is first on our list,” said Rodger Brown, vice president of human resources for the hospital system. “If you don’t have the right people in place you won’t have quality and success.”
The survey for the employers looked closely at company policies, practices, benefits and demographics. The randomly-given employee surveys focused on culture and asked plenty of questions about internal communication, leadership and development of future leaders, as well as pay, benefits and workplace satisfaction.
“Culture beats strategy all day,” said Octavius Ivy, NMMC-Tupelo assistant administrator, who helped compile the data.
The list debuted in 2008; this is the first year that North Mississippi Health Services participated.
In October, the hospital system will find out where it ranked in the Top 100, but hospital leaders are anticipating an in-depth report on the survey.
“Certainly we’re interested in our rank, but it’s an honor to make the Top 100,” Brown said. “The list of winners is a pretty elite group.”